There is a whole wealth of chatter these days about Syria……most of it is about the barbaric group known as ISIS or IS or ISIL (you pick the one you prefer)….all along there has been one overriding idea concerning Syria…..that is….”Assad Must Go”….US has said it…Turkey also…UK is on-board……everyone in the West seems to feel that Assad must go!
There is one thing that I have not heard…and that is what does the Syrian people think should be done?
Of course it will be a bit difficult right now to get a consensus since about 4 million of the 11 million population is a refugee…..
Pres. Wilson promised “self-determination” in 1918…was not part of the plan then and it is NOT part of the plan today……we can pretend that democratic principles are important….but only when we say they are…….
The Utmost Arrogance of “Assad Must Go”………
Source: Syrians Deserve Self-Determination – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com
The disturbing part of this situation is that the world is making Syrians decisions for them……few voices of the Syrian people is ever heard…..
Do you want others making your life decisions for you? Then why would it be any different if you were Syrian?
If they are abandoning their own country – what can they expect? They could stay and fight for their home – wouldn’t you?
THat is easy…have you seem what the country looks like? I would stay…that would depend on family and the situation I cannot give a blanket response…..
Everyone deserves self-determination, that’s a universal principle. But democracy happens in a context. Look at Egypt, for instance — after years of a secular dictatorship, they elected the Islamic Brotherhood, whose government was promptly overthrown without a peep about self-determination from here. Or Iran ~60 years ago and then ~35 years ago (minus the election part). Looks like they have mellowed out since.
The last half century in the middle east again and again set-up what we in the US would consider a poisoned world of civic relationships. Can you turn that into “self-determination”? Sure. What are you going to get at first? Sectarian division, theocratic governments, the temptation for some version of ethnic cleansing…. what other first step could you expect? As a “benevolent bystander”, if there is such a thing, do you encourage keeping the old borders? Do you give your “blessing” to democratic results that you don’t like? Do you recuse yourself if you come from a camp which set up the conflicts that are present there now?
I think you must give your approval if the people of the country voted for someone you do not like…..I mean it is their choice we must live with it. Look at Hamas….overwhelmingly voted into control by the people of Gaza yet we say they are terrorists….not from anything but the word of Israel…..Syria started from the will of the people and degraded from there…..there has got to be a better way than to bomb those that disagree with you…..it is too late for the borders thing now….it may have been a better outcome if not for UK and France in 1918…hard to say for sure but this whole situation today was predicated on a lie……